Automatic Structural Scene Digitalization

In this paper, we present an automatic system for the analysis and labeling of structural scenes, floor plan drawings in Computer-aided Design (CAD) format. The proposed system applies a fusion strategy to detect and recognize various components of CAD floor plans, such as walls, doors, windows and other ambiguous assets. Technically, a general rule-based filter parsing method is fist adopted to extract effective information from the original floor plan. Then, an image-processing based recovery method is employed to correct information extracted in the first step. Our proposed method is fully automatic and real-time. Such analysis system provides high accuracy and is also evaluated on a public website that, on average, archives more than ten thousands effective uses per day and reaches a relatively high satisfaction rate.Comment: paper submitted to PloS On

Extracting 3D parametric curves from 2D images of Helical objects

Helical objects occur in medicine, biology, cosmetics, nanotechnology, and engineering. Extracting a 3D parametric curve from a 2D image of a helical object has many practical applications, in particular being able to extract metrics such as tortuosity, frequency, and pitch. We present a method that is able to straighten the image object and derive a robust 3D helical curve from peaks in the object boundary. The algorithm has a small number of stable parameters that require little tuning, and the curve is validated against both synthetic and real-world data. The results show that the extracted 3D curve comes within close Hausdorff distance to the ground truth, and has near identical tortuosity for helical objects with a circular profile. Parameter insensitivity and robustness against high levels of image noise are demonstrated thoroughly and quantitatively

Feasibility study of an Integrated Program for Aerospace-vehicle Design (IPAD) system. Volume 2: Characterization of the IPAD system, phase 1, task 1

The aircraft design process is discussed along with the degree of participation of the various engineering disciplines considered in this feasibility study

Image binarisation using the extended Kalman filter

This work has been mainly supported by Grant 73604 of the University of Malta.Form design is frequently carried out through paper sketches of the designer’s mental model of an object. To improve the time it takes from solution concept to production it would therefore be beneficial if paperbased sketches can be automatically interpreted for importation into three-dimensional geometric computer aided design (CAD) systems. This however requires image pre-processing before initiating the automated interpretation of the drawing. This paper proposes a novel application of the Extended Kalman Filter to guide the binarisation process, thus achieving suitable and automatic classification between image foreground and background.peer-reviewe

Real-time Loss Estimation for Instrumented Buildings

Motivation. A growing number of buildings have been instrumented to measure and record earthquake motions and to transmit these records to seismic-network data centers to be archived and disseminated for research purposes. At the same time, sensors are growing smaller, less expensive to install, and capable of sensing and transmitting other environmental parameters in addition to acceleration. Finally, recently developed performance-based earthquake engineering methodologies employ structural-response information to estimate probabilistic repair costs, repair durations, and other metrics of seismic performance. The opportunity presents itself therefore to combine these developments into the capability to estimate automatically in near-real-time the probabilistic seismic performance of an instrumented building, shortly after the cessation of strong motion. We refer to this opportunity as (near-) real-time loss estimation (RTLE). Methodology. This report presents a methodology for RTLE for instrumented buildings. Seismic performance is to be measured in terms of probabilistic repair cost, precise location of likely physical damage, operability, and life-safety. The methodology uses the instrument recordings and a Bayesian state-estimation algorithm called a particle filter to estimate the probabilistic structural response of the system, in terms of member forces and deformations. The structural response estimate is then used as input to component fragility functions to estimate the probabilistic damage state of structural and nonstructural components. The probabilistic damage state can be used to direct structural engineers to likely locations of physical damage, even if they are concealed behind architectural finishes. The damage state is used with construction cost-estimation principles to estimate probabilistic repair cost. It is also used as input to a quantified, fuzzy-set version of the FEMA-356 performance-level descriptions to estimate probabilistic safety and operability levels. CUREE demonstration building. The procedure for estimating damage locations, repair costs, and post-earthquake safety and operability is illustrated in parallel demonstrations by CUREE and Kajima research teams. The CUREE demonstration is performed using a real 1960s-era, 7-story, nonductile reinforced-concrete moment-frame building located in Van Nuys, California. The building is instrumented with 16 channels at five levels: ground level, floors 2, 3, 6, and the roof. We used the records obtained after the 1994 Northridge earthquake to hindcast performance in that earthquake. The building is analyzed in its condition prior to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. It is found that, while hindcasting of the overall system performance level was excellent, prediction of detailed damage locations was poor, implying that either actual conditions differed substantially from those shown on the structural drawings, or inappropriate fragility functions were employed, or both. We also found that Bayesian updating of the structural model using observed structural response above the base of the building adds little information to the performance prediction. The reason is probably that Real-Time Loss Estimation for Instrumented Buildings ii structural uncertainties have only secondary effect on performance uncertainty, compared with the uncertainty in assembly damageability as quantified by their fragility functions. The implication is that real-time loss estimation is not sensitive to structural uncertainties (saving costly multiple simulations of structural response), and that real-time loss estimation does not benefit significantly from installing measuring instruments other than those at the base of the building. Kajima demonstration building. The Kajima demonstration is performed using a real 1960s-era office building in Kobe, Japan. The building, a 7-story reinforced-concrete shearwall building, was not instrumented in the 1995 Kobe earthquake, so instrument recordings are simulated. The building is analyzed in its condition prior to the earthquake. It is found that, while hindcasting of the overall repair cost was excellent, prediction of detailed damage locations was poor, again implying either that as-built conditions differ substantially from those shown on structural drawings, or that inappropriate fragility functions were used, or both. We find that the parameters of the detailed particle filter needed significant tuning, which would be impractical in actual application. Work is needed to prescribe values of these parameters in general. Opportunities for implementation and further research. Because much of the cost of applying this RTLE algorithm results from the cost of instrumentation and the effort of setting up a structural model, the readiest application would be to instrumented buildings whose structural models are already available, and to apply the methodology to important facilities. It would be useful to study under what conditions RTLE would be economically justified. Two other interesting possibilities for further study are (1) to update performance using readily observable damage; and (2) to quantify the value of information for expensive inspections, e.g., if one inspects a connection with a modeled 50% failure probability and finds that the connect is undamaged, is it necessary to examine one with 10% failure probability

The Kalai-Smorodinski solution for many-objective Bayesian optimization

An ongoing aim of research in multiobjective Bayesian optimization is to extend its applicability to a large number of objectives. While coping with a limited budget of evaluations, recovering the set of optimal compromise solutions generally requires numerous observations and is less interpretable since this set tends to grow larger with the number of objectives. We thus propose to focus on a specific solution originating from game theory, the Kalai-Smorodinsky solution, which possesses attractive properties. In particular, it ensures equal marginal gains over all objectives. We further make it insensitive to a monotonic transformation of the objectives by considering the objectives in the copula space. A novel tailored algorithm is proposed to search for the solution, in the form of a Bayesian optimization algorithm: sequential sampling decisions are made based on acquisition functions that derive from an instrumental Gaussian process prior. Our approach is tested on four problems with respectively four, six, eight, and nine objectives. The method is available in the Rpackage GPGame available on CRAN at https://cran.r-project.org/package=GPGame

The ac power system testbed

The object of this program was to design, build, test, and deliver a high frequency (20 kHz) Power System Testbed which would electrically approximate a single, separable power channel of an IOC Space Station. That program is described, including the technical background, and the results are discussed showing that the major assumptions about the characteristics of this class of hardware (size, mass, efficiency, control, etc.) were substantially correct. This testbed equipment was completed and delivered and is being operated as part of the Space Station Power System Test Facility

Aeronautical Engineering: A special bibliography with indexes, supplement 64, December 1975

This bibliography lists 288 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in November 1975